Nutritional Deficiencies May Result from Prescriptions

by healthypages on 09/08/2011 - 05:56 pm |

With so many prescription drugs being taken, there is a concern that it may cause nutritional deficiencies. According to the Department of Health and Human Resources a minimum of one prescription drug is being taken by 50% of Americans. Nutritional deficiency is one of the possible side effects of taking prescribed drugs, however, many people are totally unaware of this.

Deficiency is a major cause of many health problems all over the world and the causes range from age, lifestyle, diet and both prescribed and non-prescribed drugs. Diseases such as visible goiters, beriberi, and scurvy are the most noticeable results of malnutrition, however other conditions such as low energy levels, depression, sleeping difficulty and weight loss resistance are also common indicators of it.

The number of medications that are known to cause nutritional deficiency are as high as 80% of the top 50 most common drugs that are prescribed.

In the book entitled 'The Nutritional Cost of Drugs', the authors state that "Many of the side effects from drugs actually may be attributable to nutrient depletions caused by the drugs when taken over time. Now that this information has been brought to light, health professionals have a professional responsibility to become knowledgeable about drug-induced nutrient depletion`s so they can counsel patients and customers accordingly."

The body become very vulnerable to all kinds of health conditions when there is a depletion of enzymes, amino acids and vitamins and minerals.

Unfortunately the nutritional deficiency problem with medicines is not taught in standard medical education and so it is simply not in the awareness of many medical practitioners. For this reason it may be worthwhile to consider the nutritional effects of any medicine you are taking and accordingly find some way to supplement whatever is lacking.